Some Virginia Tech Survivors Have A 'Long Way To Go,' Governor Says

Saturday, July 28th 2007, 3:37 pm

By: News On 6

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Some students injured in the Virginia Tech shootings have made significant progress, while others have a long road to recovery ahead of them, the governor said Saturday.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine met with about a half-dozen students injured in the April 16 shootings, as well as about two dozen parents, in private at the Capitol.

Kaine, who had met with many of the injured in the days after shootings, said the students and parents made ``very heartfelt and compelling statements'' about their needs and concerns.

They included the continuing costs of medical and psychological care, the status of an investigation and anxiety about their sons and daughters returning to the Blacksburg campus, Kaine and participants said.

``Some have made significant progress, but some have a long way to go,'' Kaine said. ``Some of these youngsters are going to have significant medical challenges in the future.''

In addition to the 32 people that Seung-Hui Cho fatally gunned down before killing himself, 25 people were injured. None of the students who attended the meeting appeared to have any obvious physical injuries.

Andrew and Anne Goddard were among the parents who met with Kaine. Their son, Colin, was shot four times and still has shrapnel in his leg. He will complete his senior year at Tech, his mother said.

``My son's carrying around metal in him that he'll have for the rest of his life,'' Andrew Goddard said.

Parents of the injured have a wide range of concerns, including the costs of medical and psychiatric care that are perhaps more layered and lasting than families who lost someone in ``one final act,'' Goddard said.

Many parents also pressed Kaine on campus security and efforts to prevent a similar shooting in what Goddard called a violence-prone society.

``This is not the end of it. There is going to be another Virginia Tech, unfortunately,'' he said.

Many parents and all the students who were asked refused to discuss the meeting with Kaine.

The meeting came a little over one month after Kaine met with relatives of those killed in the shootings. They have been forceful in seeking a voice on a state panel investigating the shootings.

Some have also criticized the distribution of more than $7 million in donations to a Virginia Tech fund created for the victims' families.

Under a proposed disbursement, families of the 32 people who were killed each could receive $150,000.

The most severely injured would be offered $75,000 and would have the option of a one-year scholarship at Tech with the rest in cash. Those hospitalized for a shorter period could receive $25,000, with the option of a one-year scholarship and the rest in cash. Those with less serious injuries could receive $8,000 or one year's tuition at Tech.

The Virginia Tech review panel is scheduled to release its findings in mid-August.